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River Lune water quality to be improved

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

The River Lune in Lancaster is due to have its water quality improved significantly due to a planned project by United Utilities.

Before the work, the River Lune used to act as an overflow for storm water at times of heavy rainfall. This meant that the river was contaminated on a regular basis. However, as part of United Utilities promise to spend £3.6bn over the next few years, the amount of storm water that will enter the river will be drastically reduced.

The co-ordinator on the project, John Byron, stated:

“The scheme will clean-up and improve the existing discharges into the River Lune, providing important long term environmental benefits.

“We plan to increase underground storage capacity at our existing Scale Hall Wastewater pumping station, construct a new sewer beneath Lune Street, and build a new pumping station at Ramparts.

“The sewer overflows act like huge safety valves, releasing the excess water through the overflows to watercourses. They are important mechanisms to prevent flooding of roads and homes.”

Planning permission for the scheme has not yet been granted, but when it is, work is expected to commence in August.

Mr Byron further stated:

“We are committed to reducing pollution and improving river quality across the north west of England.”